Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Options
There is currently no cure for type 2 diabetes. But with a good type 2 diabetes treatment plan and lifestyle changes, people with diabetes can lead long, healthy lives.
There are four primary goals in type 2 diabetes treatment:
* Lowering blood sugar
* Keeping it as close to normal as possible
* Controlling blood pressure and blood cholesterol
* Preventing serious health problems related to diabetes
Diet and Exercise
Changing your eating habits and increasing your physical activity are usually the first steps you'll take to try to bring blood sugar levels down. Your doctor may also advise you to lose weight, as this almost always leads to lower blood sugar levels. It's important to work with your healthcare provider to design a type 2 diabetes treatment plan that is right for you.
Medication
If you've changed your diet and started exercising and you still have high blood sugar levels, your doctor may prescribe type 2 diabetes medication. You may have to take oral medications, insulin injections or both as part of your type 2 diabetes treatment regimen. Different diabetes medications work in different ways:
* Some type 2 diabetes medications, such as Starlix, work by helping the body release more insulin from the pancreas, which helps lower blood sugar.
* Other type 2 diabetes medications help the body better use the insulin it does make.
* Several diabetes medications keep the body from changing certain foods into glucose.
* Insulin injections provide insulin if the body does not make enough.
Learn how taking Starlix in addition to your other type 2 diabetes medications can help you take control of your blood sugar and reach your A1c goal.
See full prescribing information
REFERENCES:
1. Starlix site: Treatment Options (http://www.starlix.com/info/simplystated/diabetes_treatment.jsp).
2. Feeding the Problem, p4.
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